Thursday 26th August 2021
Our transition to a Police State is well under way
Fiji’s transition to a Police state is well under way. This is evidenced by the late-night arrest of Dr Jone Hawea in Lautoka and his immediate transfer to Suva for questioning.
Dr Hawea is being arrested and intimidated because his views on vaccination do not conform with the Government’s. This is just the same as the detention of NFP MPs and activists last month because we disagreed with Bill 17.
These middle-of-the-night arrests happen regularly now. Charges are never laid. Arrested people are accused of ‘breaching public order” but everyone knows this is not true. In fact, despite repeated provocations by the Fiji First Government, our people have remained peaceful and calm.
And we hear nothing from our alleged human rights champion, Mr Ashwin Raj. We hear nothing from the Government’s chief legal officer, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
He is the one who coined the now-mocked phrase “true democracy”. Why is he, as a leading lawyer, not standing up for the democratic right of free speech?
We are now a democracy in name only. We can only hope that the Fiji First Party does not interfere with our rights to vote at the next election.
Because most of us cannot wait to exercise those rights and throw them out.
Professor Biman Prasad
Leader